The present invention relates to a battery arrangement structure of a vehicle, such as an electric vehicle.
A weight balance (longitudinal weight balance) of the vehicle between front wheels and rear wheels of the vehicle considerably influences the force of inertia during the vehicle acceleration or deceleration or the like, and therefore controls the vehicle's traveling stability and maneuverability. Accordingly, arrangements of various devices installed on the vehicle are designed to provide an appropriate weight balance of the vehicle. For example, in an FF (front engine/front drive) type of gasoline automotive vehicle, some installed devices, such as an engine and a fuel tank, are generally arranged so that the above-described longitudinal weight balance of this vehicle can be about 6:4.
Herein, the electric vehicle may also require its longitudinal weight balance similar to the above-described balance of the FF type of gasoline automotive vehicle. In this case, since the electric vehicle is equipped with a large-sized battery instead of the engine and the fuel tank, an arrangement of the battery may considerably influence the longitudinal weight balance of the vehicle, and therefore control the traveling stability and maneuverability of the electric vehicle.
While the battery is generally arranged in a trunk room or a space in front of a dash panel at a vehicle front portion of the electric vehicle, some other different arrangements of the battery have been considered as well. Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2007-39004, for example, discloses a structure in which a center console is formed at a floor panel so as to extend from a dash panel to the vicinity of a rear seat, and a battery is arranged in this center console.
In the electric vehicle, in case the battery is arranged in the space in front of the dash panel, the weight balance of the vehicle may be improperly one-sided to the front-wheel side. Meanwhile, in case the battery is arranged in the trunk room, the weight balance of the vehicle may be improperly one-sided to the rear-wheel side to the contrary. Further, in case the battery is arranged in the center console as disclosed in the above-described publication, the arrangement of the battery is restricted between the dash panel and the rear seat, so that the flexibility of arrangement of the longitudinal weight balance may deteriorate. Therefore, the longitudinal weight balance of the vehicle may become too great, compared with the appropriate balance, such as 6:4.